HI
Just got a few queries about my EVO. Its a 2005 92 litre. just cant seem to get it cranking. What can i do to the setup. Last time had it out at dutchies in ~ 18 knots on a 5.5. felt like the sail had plenty of pull/power .....some of you probabky saw me do the walk of shame from downwind from near the cove a few times several weekneds ago. Just cant find the groove and get planing. im ~85kg. Any tips on setup etc ive tried alot of things...the obvious is just a biger sail i guess. Advice paleeeeeeeeeeeeease!!!!! Ive sailed the board on the river (yeh yeh i know!) a few time in the big winter westerlies and it wont go or point untill your pretty much o/powered.

i'm no expert but a lot of people with evo's seem to change the Drake fin that is supplied with them for a stiffer one because they are too flexy....I think flexy is good for unreal, cross off which u aint gonna get at the dutch oven.

Don't take my word for it though, i might need some back up confirmation from evo lovers,,, leech, greenroom,mark, matt, scott, stribbo, the list goes on!!

I actually prefer the standard Drake in all conditions except when it is really marginal .... then I use one size bigger but also stiffer and thicker in the draft for more lift.

Anyway, I would have thought that the board vs. sail vs. your weight vs. wind strength was enough to plane. They are slowish to plane as they are very heavily rockered. You will get used to it but bear away and pump.
They take a while to get used to as they are so different..... but you will appreciate how good the EVO is when you get used to it

My problem yesterday when using 4.5m was trying to hold my 80L EVO down and I'm 92kg

this is a bit left field but is your boom high enough? you may be leaving too much weight on the board.

lifting the boom an inch or 2 can make a big difference.

righto thanks fellas.....might try and upsize the fin, tried before but the shop didnt have one, i usually sail with a high boom, but then again i have my harness lines closer together than most so i could probably adjust something there. i guess ill just keep experimenting till i find "the groove". It was just a bit frustrating when guys similar size, similar size sail and similar boards were going sick. maybe technique?? sailing too flat .. too easy too long!!!!

cheerz

Oh yeah and.....

because they have so much rocker, mast too far forward means they are pushing too much water when sub-planing or only just planing. Better to have the mast base back a bit further and work a bit harder to get on the plane.

I never run my base further forward than about 60% of the way from the rear of the box (on my 92L EVO) ..... about halfway for 6.1 and only about 30mm from rear of the box when powered up on 5.3

yeh thats probably it too. I usually seat the mast towards the front with about 1cm or so of the track showing as i do with my carve thinking that the setup could work on my evo. npt bagging evos whatso ever by the way... find my evo easier to turn/gybe then any of my other boards! gotta go ..ROCKWIZ!

Phoenix, you gotta have the mast in the back half of the track at all times. I measured the 135cm point (from back of board) on my 80L evo and it's just behind the centre point of the mast track. Click here to read about the 135cm point and other neat tuning tips for wave boards.
http://www.boards.co.uk/articles/index.asp?ID_A=296&article_type=16

With my biggest sail and fin I'll put the mast in the very middle, but like Mark pointed out, any further forward and you're pushing water.

While I was getting used to the feel of the Evo I used stiffer fins (MFC FPT
www.mauifin.com/ ) 20.5cm for sails 4.2 - 5.2 and 22cm for 5.2 - 5.8 although a 23cm probably would have been a better choice. MFC 2K is also a good fin for Dutchies etc.

Recently I have gone back to the flexy Drake fin and am having a lot of fun with it - it is easy to spin out for some rad tail slides on smaller waves and it is also very nice for carving up decent waves.

I think the planing flat on the 2005 Evos is between the mast track and the front footstrap cos you have to drop your weight on the front foot briefly to release the tail, then shift back to keep the nose clear. Subtle movements but you'll get used to it in time. I also find that pumping the fin helps to get moving.

To point upwind you have to sort of "edge" like a kiter . Although I leant the board to a mate a couple of weeks ago and he complained that it pointed too much! I guess it's just a technique thing.

The other thing is not to be put off by the short length - if you're used to a longer board, ride the Evo just like you would. If you're too conscious of the short length you will find you're weighting the back too much and bogging the board.

The best advice I got when I moved across to the Evo is that most people who get on them hate them at first, but once they get the hang of it they don't want to ride anything else. Keep persisting and you'll find the Evo to be a very rewarding board!

my tabou 3s and the new jp freestylers seem to be the same and require the mast track further back otherwise it kills much of the early planing ability and top speed. in fact i never move the mast track on the 3s regardless of sail size or conditions, its always 2 to 3 inches from the very back

Hold off on buying a new fin. As peeps have said, check boom height, move rig up & down mast track see what effect it has, also make sure your sail is rigged correctly - maybe your sail is too flat/too much outhaul? A 92l is heaps for an 85kg. Check what other folk are on and how they're getting on? 18kts isn't really heaps of wind.

The 2005 Evos were under finned with the stock fin. I think they were trying to maximise the slippery, skatey feeling.

2005 92L --> 22.5cm fin
2008 90L --> 25cm fin

The stock fin is fine for smaller sails but for light wind stuff you need a bigger fin.

EVO 92 setup, honestly after trying different fins, mast foot positions and foot straps the best set up i found was to buy a different board and leave the EVO in the garage.

Now it works a treat.

A few thoughts from some one who has gone through the EVO dilemma

My EVO 92 - 06 wood - 4.2 - 4.7 - 22.5 stock fin and with 5.2 or 5.8 I tried a 31cm MFC Freewave fin - I'm 90kg's and sail mainly crosson and the occaisional cross off days - works well and remains pretty manouvarable.

I hated the EVO for the first 6 sails - but as the boys pointed out once you sort out getting the weight off the front of the board they plane easily and go up wind well - but you can't go out under powered - if you hang low and wide in the harness with weight on the the back foot - you seem to slide them sideways while planing they will disappear off down wind - a slightly more upright stance over the fin is worth considering.

You may not find this useful but it was a few observations from yesterday with a 5.2 - still couldn't make as much ground as my mate on his 83JP wave but at 70kg's I reckon he had a definite volume advantage.

Cheers,

Russh

I've been pretty vocal on recent forums regarding my passionate dislike for my 2004 EVO 92.

However, I have to come clean and admit that when i bought the board i fell from the marketing slogans of an easy wave board for the heavy sailor.

Unfortunately as everyone freely admits now all EVO's are a technical board to crank and indeed if you are an average / back footed sailor like i am you are doomed to struggle. But as our peers suggest, dig in, learn how to sail it and it could turn to gold.

For me, like a lot of sailors, time is the most valuable of things, and i don't have hours, days to invest in relearning to windsurf, when blasting about the odd jump suits me fine.

I change to an RRD 94 FSW and haven't looked back.

Ok my EVO 92l set up as follows
Straps in centre positions . The fin(21.5) is forward so that the rear of the foot strap is above the first third . The mast track is as far back as it can go . Boom is about chest to shoulder height. I don,t change it for any size sail(4.5 -5.8) although i don't use it for sails smaller than 5.3.The trick is to bear off, drive off your front foot to get it planning and keep the rig fairly upright untill your going.You won,t get this board planning with fin pressure.The board points ok but again it,s a combo of fin and rail keep your toes pointed,weight forward etc.

Also i might add it's a bitch at dutchie's when it's windy.Far too choppy

Other than that it awsome!!!

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Northern Monkey said...

I've been pretty vocal on recent forums regarding my passionate dislike for my 2004 EVO 92.

However, I have to come clean and admit that when i bought the board i fell from the marketing slogans of an easy wave board for the heavy sailor.

Unfortunately as everyone freely admits now all EVO's are a technical board to crank and indeed if you are an average / back footed sailor like i am you are doomed to struggle. But as our peers suggest, dig in, learn how to sail it and it could turn to gold.

For me, like a lot of sailors, time is the most valuable of things, and i don't have hours, days to invest in relearning to windsurf, when blasting about the odd jump suits me fine.

I change to an RRD 94 FSW and haven't looked back.

The FSW sounds like the right board for you NM!

It's a shame that you had to go through the frustration to get there!

The Evo is a great choice if your priority is frontside wave riding no matter whether the wind's onshore, sideshore of cross-off. In my opinion the Evo is not a good board for blasting or bump and jump, but I don't think this is what it was designed for.

I agree Leech it is a pity.

I really wanted to love this board but its just too technical for me. Maybe because i have never surfed thats why i dont get it.

I guess it's personal preference. I just got an 07 Evo and it's so much better than my JP RWW. Suits Perth conditions perfectly. Well for me it does.

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Northern Monkey said...

I agree Leech it is a pity.

I really wanted to love this board but its just too technical for me. Maybe because i have never surfed thats why i dont get it.

I have never surfed either and the EVO 92 improved my waveriding out of sight in DTL front foot style and in backfoot oriented backside riding. When I first got one I was in Esperance sailing perfect waves and loved it so much I ditched my trad waveboard (80L) and bought another EVO (80L).

I dunno about them needing to be ridden by advanced riders using a 'proper' drive off the front foot style ..... they are designed for less advanced riders in slightly onshore where a back foot bottom turn is needed to really screw it around.

But yes they're slow to plane.

Russh, never had a problem with going upwid when not planing. Actually I get mine upwind just as good off the plane.... maybe another 'getting used to it' thing

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Mark _australia said...

Northern Monkey said...

I agree Leech it is a pity.

I really wanted to love this board but its just too technical for me. Maybe because i have never surfed thats why i dont get it.

I have never surfed either and the EVO 92 improved my waveriding out of sight in DTL front foot style and in backfoot oriented backside riding. When I first got one I was in Esperance sailing perfect waves and loved it so much I ditched my trad waveboard (80L) and bought another EVO (80L).

I dunno about them needing to be ridden by advanced riders using a 'proper' drive off the front foot style ..... they are designed for less advanced riders in slightly onshore where a back foot bottom turn is needed to really screw it around.

But yes they're slow to plane.

Russh, never had a problem with going upwid when not planing. Actually I get mine upwind just as good off the plane.... maybe another 'getting used to it' thing

Yeah agree with that.

We're talking about a difference in preference.

NM prefers bump and jump style sailing where frontside waveriding is not his priority. Hence the FSW board is a better match for him.

For sailors who have any intentions of waveriding in cross - cross-on spots the EVO is a great choice. The slight compromise of speed is worth it for dynamic riding.

Your probably right Mark re the upwind slogging - I usually keep pointing off to try and get planing when it's light - catch a wave and end up doing the walk of shame.

One point I must make is I've been surfing for near on 30 years - no Kelly Slater but surf OK on my day - done the bluff winters and Gnarloo before you could camp there in 85,86, surfed my holidays away on the West coast of SA for years -
The point being - I didn't start sailing till 7 years ago and until I rode an EVO I couldn't find a board that gave me surfing like sensations and the the ability to bottom turn, cut back and get out over white water and still be a little "heavy footed". Maybe I look at it differently coming in from a long time surfing. Just wish I started sailin when I was 20!

I tried a few trad wave boards and had a s**t of a time. The Kombat 96 was OK but just didn't have the feel the EVO has.

A bit of useless personal history - would be interesting to see how the Stone Surf Designs or Kinetic thrusters boards compare to the onshore wave boards.

Cheers

Russ H

Leech that is true......... but funnily enough I like the EVO's in full on powered up B&J, perhaps because they are so out of control I feel like I'm going fast hahahaha

Russh ..... if you surfed so long you would love the Kinetic (delta) Euphoria thruster. LOVE

have definently taken this thread on board and youve probably enhanced my sailing experience for this summer good karma coming your way...cheerz

Let us know how you go!

The Evo 83 from 06 onwards (80 in 07 - same shape for 08) is EASILY one of the earliest planing boards i have had the pleasure to ride- granted the evos from before 2006 were a little more aggresive in the rocker and a little slower to plane.

I'm 88 kg and usually one of the first crew to plane up on wave gear!

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Reflex Films said...

The Evo 83 from 06 onwards (80 in 07 - same shape for 08) is EASILY one of the earliest planing boards i have had the pleasure to ride- granted the evos from before 2006 were a little more aggresive in the rocker and a little slower to plane.

I'm 88 kg and usually one of the first crew to plane up on wave gear!

True at Scarborough he is!

I use the evoxv75 on coasties (downwinder in kiter talk) and waves and love it,
long as its powered up, I think I will buy another fin for it for the extra grunt. I love its looseness and surfing style on waves.

hey phoenix,
what sort of sail are you using, cause with a sail (even a 5.5) with no bottom end and a small fin may cause a few troubles.

Poida,

I was using a Severne Radiator. Its a pretty deep sail but not too sure on any specifics as far as what sort of wave conditions its good for. Good looking sail (visually) and its xply all over thats why i brought so it could wear the brunt of my fk ups!!! At that stage i wasnt too familiar with sails and just brought amy small one that was around at the right price. I think it only was out for 1 season for some reason ..maybe someone could tell us why

rig big
if its 15-20kn - 5.8m2+ and do a coastie, you dont have to do the walk of shame then
I go kiting when its 15-20 (like yesterday) and save the sailing to 18kn-23kn min
but i'm only 76kg

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phoenix said...

Poida,

I was using a Severne Radiator. Its a pretty deep sail but not too sure on any specifics as far as what sort of wave conditions its good for. Good looking sail (visually) and its xply all over thats why i brought so it could wear the brunt of my fk ups!!! At that stage i wasnt too familiar with sails and just brought amy small one that was around at the right price. I think it only was out for 1 season for some reason ..maybe someone could tell us why

Radiator: "The most powerful wave sail in the SEVERNE collection. The lightest wave sail in the range. And the toughest sail we’ve built to date."

And the max size is 5.5m